Posts by Richard Kruml:
Ogata GEKKO (1859-1920)
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The original preparatory drawing for a triptych published by Matsuki Heikichi, 1898, showing Tadanobu ( one of Yoshitsune’s men ) fighting the priest Yokogawa Kakuhan in Yoshinoyama. Sumi and light red on thin paper, each sheet 15 x 10.5 in; 38 x 26.5 cms. First sheet signed Gekko. Extremely good condition. Ex collection Mizuno Toshikata ( the artist, 1866 – 1908 ).
Status: Sold
Ogata GEKKO (1859-1920)
Click here to view image full size. A large cartoon, sumi on thin paper folding out to 25.5 x 42 in; 65 x 106.5 cms. The subject is the Last Stand of the Kusanoki Clan. In fact Gekko designed a triptych of this subject in 1890 which is very similar to this large drawing. Why […]
Tsukioka YOSHITOSHI (1839-1892)
Click here to view image full size. Looking Itchy: The Appearance of a Kept Woman of the Kaei Era ( 1848 – 1854 ). From the set: Thirty-two Aspects of Women published by Tsunashima Kamekichi, 1888. Shows a dishabille beauty emerging from a mosquito net. One of the two or three best designs from the […]
Ichiryusai HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. Shionada from Kisokaido rokujukyutsugi no uchi, “Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaido.” The set of seventy prints was started by Eisen and published by Hoeido in 1835, but in 1837 Hiroshige took over and completed the series with the publisher Iseya Rihei (Kinjudo). Shows boatmen and river porters in […]
Torii KIYOTSUNE (active 1757-1779)
Click here to view image full size. Little is known of the artist’s life except that he was a pupil of Kiyomitsu. Shows the actor Bando Hikosaburo II as Watanabe no Tsuna and Nakamura Tomijuro as Ibaraki. This famous story recounts how Watanabe no Tsuna cuts off the arm of the demon Ibaraki at the […]
Utagawa KUNISADA (1786-1864)
Click here to view image full size. A bust portrait of the famous onnagata actor Iwai Hanshiro V in the machi musume, “town maiden” role of Oshichi. A greengrocer’s daughter, she burned down most of Edo in order to be with her lover Kichisaburo. He first performed the role at the Morita-za Theatre in 3/1809 […]
Tsukioka YOSHITOSHI (1839-1892)
Click here to view image full size. Looking Itchy: The Appearance of a Kept Woman of the Kaei Era ( 1848-1854 ). From the set Thirty-two Aspects of Women published by Tsunashima Kamekichi, 1888. Shows a dishabille beauty emerging from a mosquito net. One of the two or three best designs from the set. Very […]
Kitagawa UTAMARO (1753-1806)
Click here to view image full size. An aiban print: Junidan hana no nishiki, “Twelve Chapters of Floral Brocades” from Seiro Niwaka zensei asobi, “Most Splendid Entertainment of the Niwaka Festival in the Licensed Quarters.” The Festival was held in September in the Edo Yoshiwara district. Shows Minamoto no Yoshitsune visiting Princess Joruri. Not listed […]
Tsukioka YOSHITOSHI (1839-1892)
Click here to view image full size. One volume Shuzo suiko meimei den, Shohen, “ Portraits of the Characters in the Suikoden, First Series.” Original embossed orange covers with yellow title slip. Inside front cover title and signature within a western-style surround. Preface 6 pp. including two double-page colour illustrations, last sheet dated Keio 3 […]
Onishi CHINNEN (1792-1851)
Click here to view image full size. One volume complete: Sonan gafu, “A Book of Drawings by Sonan.” One of the best known Shijo books. Much admired by Jack Hillier who used the double page illustration of Fuji and pines for the covers to his 2 vol. book: The Art of the Japanese Book. Original […]
Yushido SHUNCHO (Fl. C 1780-95)
Click here to view image full size. A chuban print showing beauties sight-seeing on the Sumida River. From a set of ten prints of views of Koto ( an area of Edo bounded by the Sumidagawa to the west and Arakawa to the east ). Published by Enomoto, c 1790. Very good impression. Exceptionally well […]
Kitagawa KIKUMARO (Fl. c. ? – 1830)
Click here to view image full size. Ryogoku Bridge from a set: Edo meisho mitate ju kei, “A Parody of Ten Famous Places in Edo.” Shows pleasure boats cooling off between the trestles of the bridge. The Ryogoku was often depicted by Hiroshige and other artists, especially with fireworks over the bridge to celebrate the […]
Tsukioka YOSHITOSHI (1839-1892)
Click here to view image full size. Looking Tiresome: The Appearance of a Virgin of the Kansei Era ( 1789 – 1802 ). From the set: Thirty-two Aspects of Women published by Tsunashima Kamekichi, 1888. The young girl strokes a pet cat. Very fine impression of the first edition with the cat’s fur strongly blind-printed. […]
Utagawa KUNICHIKA (1835-1900)
Click here to view image full size. A young girl seated to have her photograph taken, the plate camera with dark cloth draped over, to the right. From a series Kaika ninjo kagami, “A Mirror of Modern Manners and Customs, ” sub-title “Photographs.” Photography took off quickly in Japan and there were a considerable number […]
Toyohara KUNICHIKA (1835-1900)
Click here to view image full size. The actor Ichikawa Sandanji I as Akiyama Kiimori holding a sword amidst a conflagration. Yakiuchi no ba from a set Meijiza Shinkyogen, “New Plays for the Meiji Theatre.” Although the play is unidentified the house in the background has been set on fire in an attempt to capture […]
Kitagawa UTAMARO (1753-1806)
Click here to view image full size. The lovers Miuraya Agemaki and Yorozuya Sukeroku from the set: Jitsu kurabe iro no minakami, “True Feelings Compared: The Founts of Love.” A series of half-length portraits from joruri love-suicide plays with the addition of several other famous couples. This design depicts a scene from the second half […]
Utagawa KUNIYOSHI (1797-1861)
Click here to view image full size. A beauty having taken a bath wears a loose fitting yukata with a tenugui slung over one shoulder. She is about to brush her teeth. From Kuniyoshi’s finest set of fan prints. An untitled series of at least six designs showing young women in a state of dishabille […]
Katsukawa SHUN’EI (1762-1819)
Click here to view image full size. The actor Matsumoto Koshiro IV. One of a rare series of bust portraits, each with the haigo ( poetic ) name and a fanciful title. Here: Kinko and Koraiya. Koshiro was well known as a haiku poet. Published by Iseya Jisuke, c early 1790s. Originally purchased by me […]
Utagawa YOSHIIKU (1833-1904)
Click here to view image full size. A rare print with title in a fishing net: Mitate nitaka kingyo, “A Parody of Goldfish with Actor’s Expressions.” The public would, of course, have recognised these actors, and Kuniyoshi and several pupils had a penchant for them. Indeed, Yoshiiku went on to be a cartoonist for the […]
Katsukawa SHUNSHO (1726-1792)
Click here to view image full size. The actor Nakamura Nakazo I as Prince Koreakira, younger brother of Emperor Go-Toba, in the play Gohiiki Kanjincho performed at the Nakamura Theatre, 1/11/1773. This scene shows Nakazo as the evil prince about to be confronted by Kumai no Taro ( in this case Ichikawa Danjuro V ) […]
Utagawa KUNIYOSHI (1797-1861)
Click here to view image full size. A vertical diptych of a salt-water gatherer. These girls are often depicted in ukiyoe and seem to have held a fascination with the public akin to that for ama divers. Published by Jimpachi, c 1840. Very good impression and colour. Sheets separated. Minor signs of being mounted around […]
Kitao SEKKOSAI ( TOKINOBU ) ( Active 1745-1780 )
Click here to view image full size. Three volumes complete Saishiki gasen,”A Selection of Coloured Drawings.” Of the utmost rarity and one of the technically most brilliant books using kappazuri ( stencil printing ), fuki-bokashi ( blown pictures whereby atomised pigments were sprayed onto the paper ), gold and silver. Volume 1, 14 pages, a […]
Kubo SHUNMAN (1757-1820)
Click here to view image full size. A rare surimono showing new year festivities before a large screen depicting Mount Fuji at sunset. A versatile and highly talented artist working in various mediums, Shunman produced (and cut and printed) some of the finest surimono. Published c 1810s. I cannot, at the moment, locate another impression. […]
Totoya HOKKEI (1780-1850)
Click here to view image full size. An exceptionally rare surimono showing salt gatherers on a beach, their huts behind them and Mount Fuji towering over the horizon. Published c 1820s. I cannot, at the moment, locate another impression. Fine impression with gold clouds and Fuji heavily blind-printed. Fine colour. Minimal soil, otherwise very good […]
Kitagawa UTAMARO (1753-1806)
Click here to view image full size. No. 7 from a set of 12 prints: Joshoku kaiko tewazagusa, showing women engaged in the sericulture (silkworm) industry. This was traditionally the domain of women. The colour scheme is red-avoiding (murasaki-e) using predominantly purple. This stage of the process shows the metamorphosis – the winged moth stage […]
Utagawa KUNIYOSHI (1797-1861)
Click here to view image full size. A beauty in sumptuous clothing from a fine set of seventy numbered prints with title: Sankai medetai zu, “Excellences of Mountain and Sea.” The set compares busts of beautiful women with various products and occupations from the provinces of Japan. This is number 3, Tamba, and shows men […]
Utagawa KUNIYOSHI (1797-1861)
Click here to view image full size. A beauty reading a program while a cat dozes beside her. From a fine set of seventy numbered prints with title: Sankai medetai zu, “Excellences of Mountain and Sea.” The set compares busts of beautiful women with various products and occupations from the provinces of Japan. This is […]
Utagawa KUNIYOSHI (1797-1861)
Click here to view image full size. Token Gonbei using a mirror to pluck his forehead (hitai). The style became known as Token hitai. From a set: Kuniyoshi moyo shofuda tsuki genkin otoko, “Men of Ready Money with True Labels Attached, Kuniyoshi Style.” These otokodates (a word that is difficult to translate but was a […]
Utagawa KUNIYOSHI (1797-1861)
Click here to view image full size. Sasai Kyuzo Masayasu (Sakai Kyuzo Narashige) enveloped in smoke and disintegrating before a volley of musketry at the battle of the Anegawa (1570). From the set Taiheiki yeiyuden, “Heroic Stories of the Taiheiki. A history of the wars of the loyalist Nitta and Kusunoki families against the Ashikaga […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. A poem by Onakatomi no Yoshinobu Ason from Hyakunin isshu uba ga etoki, the “Hundred Poems explained by the Wet Nurse.” Published by Nishimuraya Eijudo and Iseya Eijudo c 1835/6. Although obviously intended to be a set of 100 prints, only 27 are known plus drawings for the […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. A poem by Kiyowara no Fukayabu from Hyakunin isshu uba ga etoki, the “Hundred Poems explained by the Wet Nurse.” Published by Nishimuraya Eijudo and Iseya Eijudo c 1835/6. Although obviously intended to be a set of 100 prints, only 27 are known plus drawings for the others. […]
Utagawa KUNISADA (1786-1864)
Click here to view image full size. A surimono showing the kabuki actors, top right: Ichikawa Danjuro VII holding up a war banner decorated with a sasarindo (bamboo grass and gentian), the mon of the Minamoto clan and Iwai Hanshiro V wielding a large knife in an unidentified play. The poem mentions the Iwai and […]
Katsukawa SHUNSHO (1726-1792)
Click here to view image full size. The actor Nakamura Tomijuro I in an unidentified female role holding a biwa (a lute-like musical instrument) underarm. Surprisingly not listed in The Life And Works Of Katsukawa Shunsho, Frederick William Gookin, which is the most comprehensive overview. Published c 1775/6. Fine impression and colour. One small repaired […]
Utagawa HIROSHIGE II (1826-1869)
Click here to view image full size. Akasaka kiribatake uchu sekikei, “Evening View of the Paulownia Plantation at Akasaka Under Rain.” This is the replacement design for Hiroshige I’s version Akasaka kiribatake for the Meisho Edo hyakkei, “One Hindred Views of Edo” published by Uoya Eikichi between 1856 and 1858. This design dated 1859. Presumably […]
Tsukioka YOSHITOSHI (1839-1892)
Click here to view image full size. An important two-fold screen, Yamatotakeruno mikoto at Mount Azuma. Yamatotakeru was the beautiful but fiery tempered third son of the Emperor Keikou (71B.C.-130 A.D.) He also had magical powers given to him by his aunt. His father decided to send him to the Eastern Provinces to subdue the […]
Tsukioka YOSHITOSHI (1839-1892)
Click here to view image full size. An original painting, Hokosorori zu, showing Sorori Shinzaemon (at bottom) and Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598). Sororai was a sword sheath maker and otogishu to Hideyoshi (storyteller to attending provincial lords). “Sorori” means smooth and quiet, the name given to him because any sword fit his sheaths so perfectly. The […]
Keisai EISEN (1790-1848)
Click here to view image full size. The courtesan Hanaoka of the Sanomatsuya House in the Shin Yoshiwara looking out at the rain and holding a poem slip. Episode Amagoi from a Seven Komachi set: Shin Yoshiwara yugimi nana Komachi. The set based on the seven episodes in the life of the famous 9th century […]
Utagawa KUNISADA (1786-1864)
Click here to view image full size. A bust portrait of the onnagata actor Nakamura Matsue III as the courtesan Akoya. A part he played at the Nakamura theatre, 9/1814, in the play Dannoura kabuto gunki, Battle Tale of Dannoura.” The story tells of Akoya’s loyalty to her Heike lover Taira no Kagekiyo when on […]
Kitao SHIGEMASA (1739-1820)
Click here to view image full size. A chuban print. No. 7 from Kaiko yashinai gusa, the occupation of silk worm cultivation. Shows girls watching the moths laying eggs on a piece of paper. No publisher given but published 1772. Even better known as a book illustrator. Also an accomplished painter. Fine impression. Very good […]
Isoda KORYUSAI (Active c 1764-1788)
Click here to view image full size. The courtesan Handayu of Naka-Omiya seated at a writing desk attended by two accolytes. From a superb, large series: Hinagata wakanano hatsu moyo, “Models for Fashion: New Year Designs as Fresh as Young Leaves.” Published by Nishimura Eijudo, c 1776-7. Yoshida catalogues this set in Ukiyo-e, no. 26. […]